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Designed to Inspire: SC Johnson's Frank Lloyd Wright- designed Administration Building

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Visit SC Johnson: Here Are All the Details to Plan Your Tour    

In SC Johnson’s Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Research Tower, Architecture Meets Science    

Architectural Design Soars at SC Johnson’s Award-Winning Fortaleza Hall    

If one is in mind to build, the building should be a good one or none at all. We don't build for today, but for tomorrow.

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• Frank Lloyd Wright

Frank Lloyd Wright's Visionary SC Johnson Buildings, the "Shape of Things to Come"

There's nothing particularly revelatory about the open-plan office, especially considering the constant flux found in modern workplace design. But far outside the corridors of high-tech industry and startup spaces, one company headquarters in Racine, Wisconsin, still provides a dashing vision of the modern American workplace, despite having recently celebrated its 75th anniversary. The SC Johnson Administration Building, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright , eschews business clichés: workers are greeted by a streamlined, muscular exterior made from ribbons of glass and brick, more campus than corporate, before entering a light-filled interior, with rows of organic, curved columns creating an abstract forest surrounding the secretary pool. Open for tours, including special bus trips that coincide with the Chicago Architecture Biennial , these landmark structures still offer a singular view of the office (and look fresh after undergoing a recent eight-year, $30 million restoration). The soft lines and cathedral-like air inside suggests that, if the office furniture was removed, it would feel less like a place of work than one of contemplation and reflection.

Fittingly, Wright's client for these structures, the SC Johnson Company, was led by executives able to match his flair for showmanship and self-promotion. Herbert F. "Hib" Johnson, the head of the family business during the construction of both Wright buildings, made a name for himself early on in his tenure, rescuing the company during the Depression with a daring marketing plan. He sent 28,000 cases of the company's new product, a self-polishing floor wax called Glo-Coat , to store owners on his dime, and said they could sell it and pay him when they could, or return it as they wish. That gamble paid off, helping the company bounce back from an early '30s sales slump.

Johnson met Wright in 1936, while he was in pursuit of a new, modern office building. He soon awarded the commission to Wright, despite the fact that ground was already broken on a new facility. Working with Wright was, as many other clients learned, also a gamble. Estimated to cost $200,000, the building required SC Johnson to sink nearly $1.2 million into construction before it was finished, all while enduring countless delays due to the construction headaches of creating such a complex new structure. Seeing how Johnson later hired Wright to build his own home, Wingspread, he seemed comfortable with the architect's process, as long as the results bore out his faith (and funding). "In my own mind, I say that if one is in mind to build, the building should be good or none at all," Johnson said.

Wright's plan was to create a light-filled, collective workspace that blocked views of the surrounding industrial landscape and created a holistic workspace; in 1936, he wrote that instead of the Bauhaus idea of form follows function, f orm and function should be one . A centerpiece of his scheme was a series of inventive columns, which ran through what was to be called the Administration Building as well as the covered car park. While they later became celebrated as progressive feats of structural engineering, at the time, the design led to serious construction delays.

Members of the Wisconsin Industrial Commission didn't believe Wright's revolutionary, mushroom-like columns could support that kind of weight he suggested. Wright's steel-and-mesh columns of reinforced concrete started at a small crow's foot, rose through a widening stem, and then attached to the ceiling with a hollow, ringed band he called a calyx: the natural references explain why he called the towering structures "dendriform," or tree-like. Bureaucrats weren't as touched or sold on these poetic feats of engineering, and certainly didn't believe these weird columns, which were 90-inches at the base and 18.5 feet across at the ceiling, could hold 12 tons of weight each.

To appease his critics, Wright staged his own test, dumping sandbags on top of a column at the construction site to prove its strength. Once workers reached 12 tons, they paused. Wright told them to continue, standing underneath the structure and tapping it with his cane for effect. Construction crews eventually loaded 60 tons of material atop the lone column, stopping not because the column broke, but because they ran out of space on top to add more weight. Wright was given his building permit.

With supports in place, Wright turned to lighting, again departing with tradition. To block views but allow in sunlight, Wright experimented with a variety of solution before settling on Pyrex tubes. By setting a slanted series of glass piping above the workers, Wright created a sun-lit space that, through distorted, made the forest of columns seem even more fantastical, self-contained and organic. The 43 miles of Pyrex tubes weren't a perfect fit; the sealant used to join them cracked, allowing enough rain and melted snow to leak into the building that maintenance workers set up regular "bucket brigades" to catch leaks. (the leaks were eventually fixed with a new sealant).

When realized, Wright's design resulted in one of the more singular workspaces in corporate American history. The Great Workroom, as the main floor of the Administration Building is called, spans a half acre, meant to promote efficiency and direct access between the roughly 200 employees. The curved desks, which include rounded drawers and special posture chairs designed by Wright himself, sit within a forest of columns, which workers nicknamed mushrooms or golf tees. The constant repetition of curves, from desks to drawers to the outlines of the mezzanine balconies, recall the building's own streamlined profile.

Every aspect of the space bears Wright's touch, and the results of his philosophies on space and the environment. His dislike of enclosed spaces led to the fashioned of two "bird cage" elevators, a mesh of brass rods that silently conveys employees from the basement to the high-powered offices of the executive level. A specific shade, Cherokee Red, dominates the interior and exterior and highlights the curvaceous brick walls, which required the creation of nearly 200 special shapes to build according to Wright's specifications.

Wright told LIFE magazine that the building "was designed to be an inspiring a place to work in as any cathedral was designed to worship in. " Others were even more effusive. The financial editor of the Milwaukee Journal said, "I t is like a woman swimming naked in a stream. Cool, gliding, musical in movement and in manner ."

While the Administration Building shows Wright at his best—confident and brash, building off lofty ideals and ingenious solutions—the Research Tower finds him stretching out and literally digging in to find an ingenious means of structural support. But first, he had to convince a company aware of his budget over-runs to pony up for another project. SC Johnson inadvertently roped in Wright in 1943, without initially intending to support what would become a local landmark. During the height of the war, H.F. Johnson and the company's R&D director decided they would need new lab facilities to expand their production capabilities. Not wanting to clash with Wright's original vision, Johnson ran their preliminary blueprints for a two-story facility by Wright. He stressed he didn't want the "financial and construction nightmare" of the administration building, but wanted to respect the relationship with the visionary architect.

Wright didn't share his vision, especially when it came to the scope of the squat, functional lab. "Let us, for God's sake, honor our labor pains," wrote Wright, adopting a flourish and sentimentality that would become common during a years-long letter-writing campaign to woo the wax magnate. He added that "every building is an opportunity to do the right thing in every direction." Years of correspondence finally convinced Johnson to meet with and agree to Wright's plans, which he, a master of understatement, sold as "a tower standing as a beacon to the world for SC Johnson." Johnson, who would be proven right in his reticence when the budget leapt from $900,000 to $4.5 million, even framed his favorite letter from the exchange and hung it on his wall.

The end result appears to have justified the price of postage. Wright's Research Tower not only put the SC Johnson headquarters in the spotlight again for having one of the most modern offices in the world ( LIFE effusively praised the striking "Heliolab"), but became the birthplace of the company's most iconic products, household staples including Raid, Glade, OFF! and Pledge.

For such a space-age structure, Wright's Research Tower drew its inspiration from nature. The 153-foot high, 15-story research center was built based on a "taproot" system. A core of elevators, heating, and ductwork formed a spine at the center on the tower, supported by a foundation sunk 54-feet-deep into the ground. Disc-shaped mezzanines branched off the core, alternating with full sized, 40-foot wide floors. The effect is of a tree enclosed in glass. Wright felt inspiration and invention would happen at the top floors of the facility and trickle down, eventually finding its way to the Administration Building and factory.

Not shy about the company's location, and its lack of a pristine, natural landscape, Wright decided to focus inward and "capture" nature while blocking views of nearby factories. His solution was walls of horizontal Pyrex tubes, the same used in the Administration Building, which let in sunlight but blocked the view. This arrangement produces stunning views from outside, especially at night, when the shape of the 7,000 tubes appears to bend internal light inward on each floor. It also produced an uncomfortable workspace for scientists, who were blinded by a surfeit of sunlight and requested sunglasses until a curtain system could be installed. Despite those inconveniences, the building was in use until 1982, when new fire codes made the single, winding 29-inch staircase obsolete and unfeasible.

While all of Wright's construction projects ballooned over budget, in retrospect, they seem to have been more than worth the investment. Considered among his masterpieces, they are either in use (Administration Building) or lovingly set up for guests (Research Tower) that allows an opportunity to experience the space as the architect intended (minus leaking ceilings and blinding sunlight). While the campus has since expanded, with the Norman Foster-designed Fortaleza Hall opening in 2010, the Wright buildings still seem cutting edge. In an era of shifting design trends, that's quite an accomplishment.

Tours of the SC Johnson campus, and the two structures on the National Register of Historic Places, are free and open to the public. During the Chicago Architecture Biennial, free bus transportation is available from the Chicago Cultural Center Thursdays through Sundays until January 3. Trips also include a visit to Wingspread, the 1939 Prairie-style mansion Wright designed for H.F. Johnson.

・ 50 Shades of Gray: Matching Concrete and the Challenges of Restoring Frank Lloyd Wright's Unity Temple [Curbed] ・ The Organic Beauty of Frank Lloyd Wright's Graycliff [Curbed] ・ "Lost" Frank Lloyd Wright Home Rediscovered in Milwaukee [Curbed] ・ Frank Lloyd Wright's Lone Star Style: $3M Gets You This Pool-Hugging Usonian Upgrade [Curbed] · The Curbed Guide to the Chicago Architecture Biennial [Curbed]

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S.C. Johnson Administrative Complex

When the Johnson Wax Administration Building was completed Life magazine called it the greatest innovation since the skyscraper: “a truer glimpse of the shape of things to come.” Like Wright’s Larkin Administration building of 1903, Wright desired to build an exhilarating work environment, even suggesting that it be moved out of the bleak industrial zone of Racine for which it was planned.

Herbert F. Johnson

Golden Rondelle Theater

National Historic Landmark. National Register of Historic Places. Open to the public with tours available.

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When Herbert Johnson refused to turn his back on his company’s hometown, Wright designed the building without windows, explaining that as “nature was not present” in the environment, his design would “recreate nature” on the interior. The result, Wright promised, would be like working in a pine forest glade, with fresh air and sunlight all of the time. Wright achieved his vision with the help of two important innovations: steel mesh-reinforced concrete and glass tubing. The concrete allowed him to build slender white columns that rose tendril-like from their nine-inch bases to eighteen-foot-wide circular concrete “lily pads” that support the roof. The tubing allowed much of the roof and clerestory to filter perfectly diffuse light between the lily pads, creating a space that, without traditional windows, is the very essence of light. Due to the fact that the available technology could not properly seal the glass tubing, the roof leaked every time it rained. Herbert Johnson took to keeping a bucket on his desk to catch the drops.

The construction of the Johnson Wax Administration posed significant challenges and costs, originally budgeted at $200,000, kept rising. “First, Frank Lloyd Wright was working for me,” Johnson recounted: “Then we were working together. Finally, I was working for him.” Despite spending some $900,000 to see his headquarters finished, Johnson was so enamored of Wright’s genius that he would go on to employ Wright to design both his personal home and the new headquarters for the company’s research and design division. The resulting fourteen-story research tower is connected to the main building by a covered bridge. Reinforced concrete slabs, cantilevered from the building’s central core, form the alternating square floors and circular balconies. Though the Research Tower is no longer in use because of a change in fire safety codes, an extensive restoration completed in 2013 has enabled the tower to be open for public tours for the first time in its history.

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What it’s like to work in the world’s greatest office

The SC Johnson administration building was Frank Lloyd Wright’s corporate masterpiece. What does it feel like?

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SC Johnson’s administration building and research tower in Racine, Wisconsin, have become legendary as corporate headquarters buildings .

As the above video shows, the administration building’s “Great Workroom” is a stunning example of architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s unique approach to office design. They were built ahead of their time, the precursor to corporate campuses like Apple Park and the Googleplex.

But what did it really feel like? Vox’s Phil Edwards visited the headquarters to find out — and actually try to work there. First, he visited Wright’s nearby Hardy House , an earlier design that features many of the same Wright signatures found in the SC Johnson building, from custom-designed furniture to ideas about compression and expansion.

Watch our video to follow Phil and see what it really feels like to work in such a space.

You can find this video and others like it on Vox’s YouTube channel .

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Visit SC Johnson: Here Are All the Details to Plan Your Tour

• Architecture

Interested in visiting SC Johnson? Tours of our global headquarters campus in Racine, Wisconsin are free and open to the public with reservations. Tours are available Saturdays and Sundays, and you can also see our unique films while on campus.

When you’re in town, you can also visit the famed Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home Wingspread. It was commissioned by third-generation SC Johnson leader H.F. Johnson, Jr. and is just a few miles north of our headquarters campus. Now the headquarters of The Johnson Foundation, Wingspread also offers tours and you can book them through our site, too. If you want to visit SC Johnson and Wingspread, be sure to make separate reservations for each. You’ll want to allow drive time if you are scheduling to visit both on the same day. Have a big group? SC Johnson campus tours of more than 20 people can be arranged by contacting SC Johnson at [email protected] or 262-260-2154. Group tours of Wingspread can be arranged via phone at 262-681-3353.

Tours: We have captivating tour options available for all group sizes and ages.

Wingspread: Tour the iconic home that Frank Lloyd Wright designed for H.F. Johnson Jr. and his family.

FLW Trail: The Frank Lloyd Wright Trail connects all nine Wright-designed sites in southern Wisconsin.

Tour FAQS: Still have questions on planning your visit? We can help.